Passengers at Vietnam's Long Thanh airport won't need to remove shoes or laptops at security

Pham Quang Hieu, Deputy Head of Technology and Environment at Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), on Oct. 8 said the new security systems can detect items inside bags with far greater accuracy than current low-resolution scanners, which often require passengers to unpack electronics and accessories.

Walk-through detectors at older airports also fail to pick up small, non-metallic items hidden under rubber soles.

"With this new technology, passengers will enjoy greater convenience while security remains uncompromised. It also helps ease congestion at checkpoints," Hieu said at a digital economy forum.

The U.S. scrapped its shoe-removal rule months ago, sparking calls in Vietnam to follow suit.

Dang Hong Anh, chairman of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association, argued that removing shoes, belts and jackets wastes millions of labor hours annually, equivalent to losses of up to VND150 billion (US$6 million), and strains security staff as more than 1,000 travelers pass through major airports every five minutes.

The new scanners are part of ACV’s wider digital transformation push. From December, airports it manages will also pilot a "paperless airport" model using the national VNeID digital ID system. Passengers will be able to verify their identity with VNeID instead of showing ID cards or boarding passes, with biometric checks ensuring smoother journeys from ticket booking to boarding while cutting down on fraud risks.

Long Thanh, under construction on a 5,000-hectare site in Dong Nai Province, 40 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City, is envisioned as a "green and smart" airport designed to reduce carbon emissions and eventually reach Net Zero.

Once fully built, it will be able to handle 100 million passengers and 5 million tons of cargo annually, positioning itself as a new regional hub competing with Singapore’s Changi and Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi.

Phase one alone, costing nearly VND336.63 trillion ($13.2 billion), is designed to serve 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tons of cargo a year.